router

The demands on today's home networks have changed substantially compared to yesteryears. Whereas before each household would have at least one or two computers, today each member of that household would have at least one mobile device, sometimes even more. Regular consumer routers sometimes just aren't enough anymore to handle all those devices, not to mention the bandwidth their activities require. Enter Ubiquiti with its new Amplifi Wi-Fi system which was designed to create an enterprise-grade Wi-Fi network but with the convenience and beauty of a home device.

Google's OnHub, the attractive WiFi router that recently got a makeover, has received a new update that (finally) brings a guest network option. With the feature, it is easier for guests to hop on your WiFi network, but you’ll have more control over what they can do, such as what devices can be accessed through it. The feature is available via the Google On mobile app.

Founder of now-defunct Aero is back with a new company, and it is called Starry. As with Aero, Starry’s founder and CEO Chet Kanojia is looking to change how things are done, not merely rehash the norm, and his latest attempt has set its focus on Internet, not television. Starry is in the process of deploying the first millimeter wave band active phased array technology for consumer-level Internet, but ahead of that comes something different: Starry Station, a router.

Long gone are the days when a household had one lone computer connected to the Internet. Today a single home would have at least 3 smartphones, a tablet, and a laptop. Most have even more. That complicates home networking needs well beyond the capabilities of simple routers. To address the growing needs of increasingly tech savvy households, D-Link has revealed a new EXO line of routers and a new Unified Home Wi-Fi Network Kit that aims to not just speed up the transfer of data within the house but also manage that traffic depending on the needs of the users.

TP-Link has rolled out a new multi-band WiFi router at CES 2016 that claims to be the first WiFi router based on 802.11ad technology. Inside the router are 802.11ad and 802.11ac MU-MIMO solutions from Qualcomm Atheros. The router is called the TP-LINK Talon AD7200 Multi-band Wi-Fi router. It’s capable of delivering network speeds up to 4.6 Gbps on 60 GHz bands.

Securifi has unveiled the latest router in its Almond touchscreen wireless router family and it is called the Almond 3. The router is a smart home hub and a traditional WiFi router in one device. It supports Gigabit WiFi, has an integrated ZigBee radio, supports Z-Wave, and Bluetooth devices. It also has an integrated programmable siren for home security.

Firefox OS is dead. Long live Firefox OS! Or something to that extent. Mozilla might have pulled the plug on a Firefox OS smartphone, but it technically hasn't killed the platform yet. It even hinted that Firefox OS proved to be a scalable Web-based platform and is, in fact, being used for some smart TVs. Apparently, Mozilla might also have plans to go beyond that entertainment appliance. Based on some leaked documents, the foundation is looking into bringing Firefox OS to tablets, standalone keyboards, and even routers.

Securifi is a company that makes the cool Almond+ and Almond 2015 routers. Those routers have been updated to support Nest products. Say the word Nest and we immediately think of the Nest thermostat, but Nest has other products to its name like the Protect smoke alarm and Cam security camera. Nest integration adds another layer of control for the router that already has integration for Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Phillips Hue devices.

Encasing smartphones, and sometimes even tablets and laptops, aren't exactly new to our ears. They have, in fact, given rise to very artistic expressions as well as innovative extensions. But putting a shell around your router? Now that's something you don't hear every day. But if you are one of the few to get Google's and TP-LINK's new cylindrical OnHub router, then that might soon become a way of life. Google has just announced its similarly new concept to put a case around the router to make it more a part of your home than just some black box in the corner.

Torch is an elegantly designed Wi-Fi router that aims to keep kids safe online and, subsequently, makes parents lives a little more simple. The router is designed to limit, monitor and otherwise enable parents to better control their kid’s access to the Internet, doing so through the promise of simple interfaces and ample tools. Parents are able to see things like how often a site is visited, recent activity, and more.

Google has taken the wraps off its second OnHub router, this one coming from ASUS. The first OnHub router, which we’ve previously detailed, was released this past August, bringing with it a more modern and simplified experience. This new model is similar in many ways, featuring a similar — though arguably more sleek - design and simplified functionality, as well as a new gesture-based feature.

A group of developers opens up the Google OnHub smart router's software to find that it runs Chrome OS. That means the device is a Chromebook - or a Chrome... Hub... as it were. While it doesn't mean you're going to be connecting the machine to a display and using it as a Chromebox any time soon, it does mean that there's far more potential for this OnHub device than Google is letting on initially. This all points to smart home control.